blossom and prodigy
by Jennjennr
Summary: Sakura faces Itachi in a battle to keep him from Naruto she makes a stand. [oneshot]


Hmm this is my first story, its rather old, hopefully it's not to out of date with the manga that ya'll can understand it.

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"Kunoichi, move out of my way." Sakura heard the mono-tone voice of the man in front of her say, eerily echoed by Naruto's kyuuabi's cry.

"No Itachi, I will not." She stared at him, amazed at his ability to keep all emotion off of the planes of his face.  
"You will not touch Naruto."

Itachi raised one slim eyebrow, "Are you going to stop me?" he queried, his voice remaining expressionless.

"I will do my best yes." She said with out looking at his face, watching all of his body movements. Knowing one wrong move could be her last, and not willing to let him get to Naruto to suck the jinchuuriki out of him. She knew what would happen if he did, and she wasn't going to let her friend be killed by this monster. As she thought this, a thought jumped into her mind,  
"How can you remove the beast from his body? I was told that it took many years to gather the power to do so, and the Akatsuki have just used their power on Garra. So how, and why are you wanting Naruto?"

"Hmm..." He mummured. "Yes in most cases this would be true, but now that he has brought the beast to the surface, it will be easy to extract."

The field around them shook with the reverberating roars of the enraged Kyuuabi. She was all that was standing between the Uchiha prodigy, and her friend. Yamato was facing Kabuto in one clone form the other was most likely with Nartuo and Orochimaru, Sai was goodness knows where, after she had fallen off the bridge she had lost track of the painter.

"How do you plan to defend yourself against me, kunoichi? You cannot look me in the eye, nor can you beat me in power or strength. Yet you claim you will stop me I wish to see how this claim will be upheld." Itachi said as he began a genjutsu to deal with the girl.

"Kai!" Sakura yelled dispelling the jutsu, surprising the Sharingan user.

"Very good, my genjutsu's are not so easily broken, this may take longer than I anticipated, prepare yourself!" He warned.

Sakura cleared her mind from all thoughts focusing all energy to Itachi and his energy. She felt the edges of reality shift once more and again spoke the release spell; only to lose sight of her opponent as he had moved in a matter of seconds. She looked to the ground around her looking for a sign of his position, only to be hit from the side of the head by his hand. She skidded several feet on her side. Regaining her feet she faced him, healing her injury, and wiping away the blood.

"...So you are a healer."

"Yes, and not so easily taken down by the likes of you."

"The 'Likes of me'?" He questions.

"Yes a coward, who kills his own family, torments his younger brother, and spills blood so senselessly." She spat.

"I do not spill blood for the sake of it girl." He murmured.

"No? Then why did, no why do you kill so many? The challenge? You know you are the strongest shinobi alive today. "

"I do it not for the skill, fear, or test. I do it for the art, how expertly I can spill their blood, or destroy their minds. It is pure beauty."

Sakura stared at him aghast. "Is this a running theme of the Akatsuki? Sasori, and Deidara said the same thing. Do you really believe that killing is a form of art?"

"Yes I do, if done right it is a masterpiece."

"You're wrong." She answered.

He looked at her waiting for her to explain.

She chuckled, "Everyone dies Itachi, it's unavoidable. No matter the Justu's the power, anything, death will come for you. It's no beauty, life is beauty, love is beauty, nature is beauty. Death is easy, life is hard."

"You know nothing child." Itachi stated, starting to anger at the girl's words, "What do you know of life? Of death? I have seen things, done things that you will never experience. I tire of this dribble; if you wish save the Kyuuabi, fight me."

He pulled a Kunai from his side and rushed at the still female. His cloak billowing in the still night air, his arm arched down with the precision of years of death, slicing into her young frame.

His swirling eyes bore into her fallen figure, "Why did you not dodge?"

"Heh," She coughed her mouth dripping a line of crimson, "because I know I will not die alone."

She smirked, "God will take revenge on you today."

"There is no God." He stated with a certainty.

"No? Then don't turn around." Sakura mocked.

Then Itachi felt it, the swift thrust of a blade piercing him. Looking downward the saw the tip of a kantana protruding through his chest, right through his heart. His eyes met hers, knowing they would indeed share the same fate by the end of this night. Turning he saw the figure of a boy aged maybe sixteen expressionless face, Kanoha Leaf resting on his forehead, midriff bare.

"Sai, you came." Sakura said.

"Yes, ugly, you have done a stupid thing. I cannot save you, you will die."

"Hmm. This I know, it had to be, this man is too deadly to let live, and I knew this was the only way. I am only glad that I saw you in the woods, glad you came." A grimace marred her face.

"Sasuke will not forgive you for this." Itachi said feeling the life pour out of him in crimson ribbons.

"There will be nothing for him left to not forgive, Itachi we will both meet our fate today."

"Is this my fate? To die by the hands of children?" He looked down once more feeling the beats of his heart end.

Sakura looked to Sai, ignoring Itachi's dying thoughts, her breathing labored. "Ha," she paused coughing more blood, "tell them...hthat.. I love them..ugh...all... haa ...tell theh..." her voice trailed off eyes completely glassy, and her body slumped to the ground.

Sai stared at her, then looking to the fallen man saw the same expression, same glassy eyes. It never ceased to boggle his mind, this concept of death, one minute you were alive, the next you were not. It was oddly beautiful, the serene, doll-like faces void of life eyes sightlessly staring.

"Maybe I will paint this one day..." He whispered to himself, continuing to gaze at the lifeless bodies.

Yamato, finished with Kabuto then went in search of the rest of his team, coming to the clearing where he had left Sakura, he saw Sai standing looking to the place where Naruto and Orochimaru fought, past him was two bodies, a blossom, fallen, and a prodigy, forgotten.


End file.
